Reflections on the text "Trans counteroffensive" by the Union Communiste
Libertaire (UCL) ---- From Liza's Gender Commission, we present thisarticle as a complement to the translation of the text "Trans
counteroffensive" by the Union Communiste Libertaire (UCL). ---- The
document produced by the comrades covers an analysis of the current
situation on the trans issue at the international and national level in
the French context, the theoretical positioning of the organization on
the inclusion of trans subjects within the feminist struggle and some
notes on how they have decided to apply all this to their political
practice. ---- We strongly encourage you to read the aforementioned
text, which is available at this link:
https://www.regeneracionlibertaria.org/2025/01/16/hacia-una-contraofensiva-trans/
The following article constitutes our reflection as feminists and
specificist anarchists regarding the trans question, as well as an
adaptation of the comrades' analysis to our context. However, we
consider that addressing the trans struggle is an issue that cannot be
settled with a simple article. Ultimately, the issue at hand is nothing
more and nothing less than the articulation of the different sectors of
the working class and the creation of strategies that allow the
strengthening and expansion of their partial demands, generating both
partial victories that strengthen the creation of social force and the
construction of a revolutionary perspective.
Obviously, with this article we are not going to be able to resolve such
a complex issue, but we can reinforce the obligation for political
organizations (especially those that are related) to incorporate trans
people as legitimate members of both the feminist struggle in particular
and the workers' struggle in general. We will return to this issue
later. For the moment, we will begin with a brief analysis of the
legislative situation in which the trans issue is found in our territory.
The current situation of the trans issue in the Spanish state
As a complement to the analysis of the international situation that
heads the text "Towards a trans counteroffensive", we wanted to add some
details about the specific situation in the Spanish state. Although in
February 2023 we saw the Trans Law approved at the state level, the
Madrid right has managed to repeal several of the law's proposals at the
regional level. However, on June 25, 2024, the government published a
press release stating that the Council of Ministers has agreed to file
appeals of unconstitutionality against the regulations approved by the
Community of Madrid.
The resolution of these appeals remains to be seen, but there is no
doubt that, in the Community of Madrid, the original proposed law has
suffered a setback, which materialises in the maintenance of
pathologising language at the legislative level, the cancellation of a
Centre for Documentation and Historical Memory of LGBTI in the Community
of Madrid, the impossibility of adapting regional documentation to the
corresponding gender identity without having previously modified the DNI
or the reduction of the facilities that the original law allowed to
trans students in educational centres.
It should be noted that although the Government filed this claim of
unconstitutionality, there are strong disputes within its own ranks led
by a convinced transphobic sector, as has been made clear by the results
derived from its 41st Federal Congress, held at the beginning of
December 2024. In it, an amendment has been approved that prevents trans
women from participating in the female categories, using the
characteristic argument of the right to discriminate and delegitimize
trans women as women. In addition, in its political roadmap, the acronym
"LGTBIQ+" has been changed to "LGTB", thus excluding a significant part
of the set of sexual dissidents.
While it is worth highlighting the expression of voices within the party
against these amendments, these resolutions are an example of the
constant instability of trans rights and their continuous use by
political parties to attack each other and mobilise public opinion in
their own interests, displacing the rights of trans people to be legally
protected in their basic needs and protected against discrimination. As
Shon Faye states, the trans debate is permanently on the political table
but it is never to talk about the real needs of this group based on
their demands, but rather it generates imaginary problems in the public
debate, such as the supposed risks of aggression against minors in
bathrooms or threats to women's rights.
Returning to the limitations and shortcomings of the Trans Law, another
flagrant aspect is the approach to conversion therapies. Although they
are prohibited at the state level, these "therapies" continue to be
practiced and not a single sanction has been brought against their
promoters. The association "No es Terapia" claims that this is because
the powers to initiate sanctioning proceedings lie with high-level
administrative bodies, which act in accordance with the policies and
guidelines of the Autonomous Government. Faced with this covert
acceptance, queer people continue to suffer the effects of this
degrading and violent activity. This administrative malpractice is just
one example of the multiple difficulties that even a well-intentioned
law has to confront in order to establish real measures.
Regarding the Trans Law, it should be noted that in addition to not
triggering a forceful response to such extreme violence as conversion
therapies, it presents notable limitations in the lack of recognition of
non-binary people, in the absence of measures that confront existing
transphobia or, of course, in the questioning of the premises on which
the capitalist and patriarchal system is based, such as the binary
nature of sex and gender, the heterosexual couple and the nuclear family.
Another significant aspect that should be addressed in the analysis of
the impact of the Trans Law is the origin and meaning of the cuts
promoted by the right to the original legislative project in the Madrid
context. These cuts constitute a show of force and a declaration of the
intentions that they have been materializing for some time: the
identification of the queer population in general and of trans people in
particular as a threat to "women and children", with conspiracy
arguments that instrumentalize the fear of sexual violence to demonize
groups such as migrants or trans people, whom they absurdly consider the
perpetrators of said violence. Other atrocities that we have heard from
representatives of the right spectrum place the group as chronically ill
and impose an ideological veto on celebrations and cultural
representations of the LGTBIQ+ community.
Let us not forget the firm positioning of a significant sector of
feminism with the extreme right regarding transphobia. Although this
alliance may seem to lack any foundation due to the recalcitrant
misogyny of the right and its historical enmity with feminism, there is
no doubt that the arguments and attacks on the trans population of both
sectors coincide, leading them to even demonstrate together on many
occasions. We must not forget that the representatives of this feminist
sector not only belong to the neoliberal and institutionalized wing of
feminism, but they also participate in social movements and lead a firm
stance of rejection of trans people. This stance has led to the
separation of the historic demonstration of March 8 in the city of
Madrid. Thus, the official demonstration organised by the 8M Commission
was covered with the trans flag and maintained the inclusion of trans
people as subjects of feminism, while the self-proclaimed "Feminist
Movement of Madrid" has created a parallel demonstration based on its
openly transphobic and whorephobic positions (hostile and infantilising
towards sex workers).
The continuous overlaps between the legislative and social spheres that
we can see in these disputes show us the need to look beyond the realm
of the law when analysing the circumstances in which, in this case, the
trans population finds itself. We must not forget that transphobia, like
other forms of discrimination, manifests itself in all spheres of daily
life. Thus, trans people experience violence of different types and
degrees in schools, at work or in the social and family sphere. Also
notable are the great difficulties in accessing employment and housing,
in addition to the notable impact of cuts and privatisation in health
care, together with a lack of training on the part of health personnel
suffered by trans people who decide to take hormones or undergo surgery.
From our libertarian perspective, we do not believe that the
difficulties that trans people fight against, as well as the rest of
social hierarchies and discriminations, can be reversed by means of
laws. We believe that only with the end of capitalism can there be a
radical transformation of society that subverts material inequalities
and eliminates the institutions that protect them. But despite the
limitations of specific demands, we believe that it is necessary to
articulate them in a systematic and structural way to aim for the
emancipation of the working class. In other words: instead of
establishing legislative reforms as our destiny, we consider them a
necessary stop on our path and we conceive that the achievement of
certain partial demands can bring us closer to victory when they have
been achieved by an articulation of different sectors of the working
class with a strategic perspective.
We therefore support the need for a Trans Law, as well as the abolition
of the Immigration Law, the protection of public health and other
legislative demands that are intended to be achieved as a class in the
area of housing, among others. We also reaffirm that trans people are
subjects of the feminist struggle and part of the working class and as
such, they are strongly affected by the impact of the privatisation of
public services and the precariousness of life. In addition to all these
processes of dispossession, there are the specific violence they
experience due to the increase in prevailing transphobia, fuelled by the
extreme right at international and local levels.
However, we want to emphasize that, as we can see in the Madrid context,
laws are fickle, so both to maintain the rights won and to advance in
the articulation of the working class, a coordinated and solid
organization of this class is necessary. To do so, it is essential to
understand the existing plurality within it: although trans rights do
not directly appeal to cis people, they constitute a victory for the
working class as a whole, especially if they come from an articulated
struggle, since the social muscle necessary to confront the growing
precariousness of life to which neoliberalism subjects us is being
generated. And, of course, because we are part of the same class and we
want the needs of all its members to be satisfied, understanding that
these needs are necessarily different but equally legitimate.
It is also important to consider the demands and needs of the different
sectors of the working class, since all of them suffer from capitalism
and its close collaboration with the other axes of domination.
Therefore, the contributions that each sector makes are fundamental to
be able to understand the common enemy in its entirety, as well as to
develop analyses and tools of struggle that do not reproduce the
premises of these axes of domination, but rather point towards
emancipatory horizons for all.
Responses from the queer community and the need to rethink our struggle
Of course, the trans population has been articulating different
responses to these attacks: in the broadest sector of society, we
observe the predominance of the NGO format and in the most radical
circles, of demonstrations with critical perspectives on 28J and
informal networks focused on the organization of spaces and events for
the queer community. As participants in these spaces, we have detected a
notable reluctance to consider union perspectives or to delve deeper
into debates on modes of social organization, prioritizing instead both
the creation of their own spaces and participation in coordination based
on symbolic demonstrations of support for other struggles.
We want to clarify that it is not our intention to devalue the work that
our comrades do, but rather to put certain political questions on the
table, encouraging internal reflection within the queer movement. We
agree with the UCL's position in considering affinity networks as
fundamental for the survival of trans people, but not incompatible with
the creation of solid organizations and structures that can recapture
the revolutionary potential that the gender dissident movement has
historically held. We want and believe that a political force capable of
thinking strategically can be formed in order to achieve conquests in
the near future, generate broad awareness and solidarity with the trans
cause and participate in a profound social transformation.
As specificist anarchists, we believe that social movements have the
capacity to organize themselves autonomously without the tutelage of any
party, to establish objectives and generate discourses and strategies
that bring them closer to their goals. We conceive of anarchism not as a
countercultural current or a separate movement, but as a participant and
promoter of the different groups in which the working class comes
together to defend its rights and build alternative social horizons,
whether in the field of health, education, housing, the trans or LGTBI
struggle, feminism, anti-racism, etc.
We aim to participate in different movements to jointly advance towards
a society free of LGBTIphobia, in which binarism, gender roles and the
imposition of the nuclear family are broken.
In the magazine Zona de Estrategia, Charlie Moya calls for overcoming
identity-based thinking and recovering the potential of the queer
movement to bring about radical social change. It is not our intention
to try to respond to the debate on whether it is necessary to form
specifically queer or trans political structures; to channel this
militant force into unions to fight for our comrades while conveying to
them the need to also incorporate trans demands into their struggle; to
participate in platforms that demand public health or to seek new
formats for grouping. Our intention at this time is to open and
instigate this debate, as we see it as essential that the queer and
trans movement come together to strategically reflect on the current
situation and how to organize to change it.
Likewise, we call on other organizations not only to show solidarity
with the specific struggles of trans people, but also to incorporate the
criticisms and questions that are embedded in their experiences and in
their proposals against patriarchal institutions.
Furthermore, we must not forget the heated debate that this issue is
generating within the left and feminism. It is necessary to confront
these right-wing discourses in which trans people are blamed for the
evils generated by capitalism and patriarchy. To ignore the attacks that
are being made from these sectors is to ignore the integrity of trans
comrades and deny them their legitimate place as members of the working
class and the feminist struggle. It is essential that organizations form
and position themselves, participating in these ideological and
strategic debates to actively include trans people.
It is time to come together, to create solid alliances that can confront
the extreme right and capitalism and move towards the world we want to
live in. Until we end all discrimination, whether based on gender
identity, sexual orientation, race, origin or ability.
For us and for all our colleagues .
Liza Gender Commission
Related readings
Black Orchid Collective (20210) Queer Liberation is Class Struggle.
Available in English and Portuguese.
https://blackrosefed.org/queer-libertation-is-class-struggle/
Gleeson JJ, and O.Rourke E. (February 2024) Marxism Trans. Levanta Fuego
Publishing.
Liza (March 6, 2024) 8M, feminisms and specificist anarchism in Liza.
Regeneration.
https://www.regeneracionlibertaria.org/2024/03/06/8m-feminismos-y-anarquismo-especifista-en-liza/
May, Charlie. (February 22, 2024) Why should the LGTBIQ+ movement
dissolve? Against the pacifying effect of the left. Strategy Zone.
https://strategyzone.net/why-the-lgtbiq-movement-should-dissolve-against-the-pacifying-effect-of-the-left/
Union Communiste Libertaire (December 21, 2023) Pour une
contra-offensive trans.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Pour-une-contre-offensive-trans
Article references
Faye, Shon (2021) Trans: a plea for a fairer and freer world. Blackie
Books Publishing House
Galaup, L. (July 3, 2023) Vox begins a crusade in institutions against
cultural productions with LGTBI content.
https://www.eldiario.es/politica/vox-inicia-cruzada-instituciones-producciones-culturales-
contenido-lgtbi_1_10347243.html
López Trujillo, N. (December 22, 2023) In Spain there are 15 Autonomous
Communities with trans or LGTBI laws, but Madrid is the first to "cut"
its own. Newtral . https://www.newtral.es/reforma-ley-
trans-madrid/20231222/
Lucas, JC (January 10, 2024) Conversion therapies still exist in Spain
and an association wants to stop them. El Salto .
https://www.elsaltodiario.com/lgtbifobia/terapias-conversion-aun-existen-espana-una-
asociacion-quiere-frenarlas
Martos, B. (January 15, 2024) The reform of the Trans Law in Madrid.
What rights does it violate? Amnesty International.
https://www.es.amnesty.org/en-que-estamos/blog/historia/articulo/ley-trans-madrid/
Ministry of Equality (June 25, 2024) The Government files appeals of
unconstitutionality against the Trans and LGTBI Law of the Community of
Madrid.
https://www.igualdad.gob.es/comunicacion/notasprensa/el-gobierno-interpone-recursos-de-inconstitucionalidad-contra-la-ley-trans-y-lgtbi-de-la-comunidad-de-madrid/
It is not Therapy. Legislative Change.
https://www.noesterapia.net/legislativo
Legal News (July 18, 2024) The Constitutional Court provisionally
suspends parts of Ayuso's trans law, including the possibility of
allowing conversion therapies.
https://noticias.juridicas.com/actualidad/noticias/19405-el-constitucional-suspende-provisionalmente-partes-de-la-ley-trans-de-ayuso-entre-ellas-la-posibilidad-de-perscribir-terapias-de-conversion/
Public (February 12, 2024) Feminism splits again on 8M in Madrid with
the rights of trans women as a point of contention. Public/Europa Press.
https://www.publico.es/mujer/feminismo-separa-nuevo-8m-madrid-derechos-mujeres-trans-punto-discordia.html
Regueros, P. (December 28, 2023) "Trans women do not exist": the
transphobic tweets of the new director of the women's institute.
https://www.elsaltodiario.com/psoe/mujeres-trans-no-existen-tuits-transfobos-nueva-directora-del-instituto-mujeres
https://www.regeneracionlibertaria.org/2025/01/24/la-respuesta-trans-frente-a-los-ataques-de-la-derecha-analisis-y-propuestas/
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